Drug offences top reasons for inmates’ custody in Oyo – NCoS - Punch Newspapers
DCC David Akadiri and other NCoS officials at the programme. CREDIT: NAN
The Oyo State Command of the Nigerian Correctional Service says drug-related offences account for most inmates in its custodial centres. Officer-in-Charge, Medium Security Custodial Centre, Agodi, Ibadan, DCC David Akadiri, disclosed this during the third edition of the Inmates Debate Competition organised by the centre in Ibadan on Wednesday. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the debate was themed: “Drug Abuse is a Major Contributor to Criminal Behaviour.” NAN reports that Team A and Team B spoke for and against the topic, respectively. Akadiri described drug abuse as a bad phenomenon capable of taking addicts to undesirable places in life, hence the centre’s efforts to advise and encourage inmates to stay away from drugs.See more Punch stories on Google.Add Punch on Google He reaffirmed that custodial centres exist to make inmates better citizens by correcting and changing their mentality. According to him, the government had created an enabling environment for the NCoS to achieve its mandate to reform, correct and rehabilitate inmates. “The government has created an enabling environment by establishing a school within the facility; workshops have been created here, and instead of them sitting idle, they can engage themselves in productive activities. Oyo targets improved family planning services Kano task force targets 10,000 drug abusers for rehabilitation Oyo plans inclusion of hospitality into tax system “By the time they leave this place, they will be very useful to themselves, their families, and society at large,” he said. Akadiri said the centre was optimistic that the inmates would be good ambassadors for society by the time they were reintegrated. Mr Aderibigbe Iyanu, a representative of Taming Wonder, one of the partners in the debate initiative, said the debate was meant to remind the public that inmates still had abilities, ideas and potential. Iyanu said the debate also served as an opportunity for inmates to learn, think, speak and engage with important issues affecting society. He commended the inmates for participating in the debate and appreciated the Medium Security Custodial Centre, Agodi, for providing the platform for the debate. An Assistant Commander of Narcotics (ACN), Godwin Mercy of the NDLEA, Oyo State Command, urged Nigerians to shun drug abuse and misuse to reduce crime to the barest minimum. NAN reports that Team B won with 84 points, while Team A scored 80 points. NAN Kindly share this story:
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